Department of Commerce (Commerce)s Housing staff will be hitting the road again in April to inform property managers and potential renters about statewide housing and related assistance resources available to them through www.wifrontdoorhousing.org. The mission of the website is to assure every resident of Wisconsin is granted an opportunity to obtain affordable housing.

The WIFrontDoor website assists low-to-moderate income Wisconsin residents with locating rental units that meets their needs by providing detailed and user-friendly information. The website establishes a direct link between perspective tenants and landlords/property managers who have available rental units.

Melisa Perez, Commerce community service specialist, says "You can make qualified decisions on rental units by reviewing the property details that are provided to you by landlords and property managers.

"Our community services website is a searchable database that provides detailed information about each participating provider, volunteer needs, wish lists, maps, and more. The community guide helps to match your need to agencies that can provide for you throughout the state of Wisconsin."

Melisa notes that WIFrontDoor demonstrations will be a part of two upcoming housing events, and invites interested parties to stop by the Commerce booth to learn more about it. They are:

UW – Milwaukee's Neighborhood Housing Office 8th Annual Housing Fair
Wednesday April 18 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. Last year Commerce staff provided information to over 700 attendees at the student union.

Wisconsin Fair Housing Network's Statewide Fair Housing Conference, "Tune into Fair Housing"
April 19 and 20 in Racine at the Racine Marriott Hotel. WIFrontDoorHousing will have an exhibit booth at the conference on the evening of April 19 from 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm. We will be demonstrating the website and we will have Wisconsin Department of Commerce reference materials available.

Concludes Melisa, "The WIFrontDoorHousing website has just celebrated its second anniversary, and we would like to share our current statistics with you."

Anyone who would like to share any WIFrontDoor success stories with us, please contact fdhelp@commerce.state.wi.us.

-- Melisa Perez

The newsletter is issued electronically every other month.

Please send comments or questions to Barbro McGinn, editor.